The Quinns will seek to test the manner in which the Commercial Court was told of proceedings taken in the US and UK, following those allegations by the unidentified informants.

The family, who have described the informants' claims as "scurrilous lies", may seek to cross-examine Mr Wallace about the matter after they have studied various documents put before the US and UK courts.

But Paul Gallagher SC, for IBRC, said there were no grounds for a cross-examination of Mr Wallace and, should such an application be brought, it would be firmly resisted.

Counsel for the Quinns Charlotte Simpson BL yesterday moved an application before Mr Justice Peter Kelly arising from the family's complaints that IBRC put the informants allegations before the court on Friday May 30 – without giving the Quinns advance notice the bank intended to do so.

The Quinns were particularly concerned because the allegations received enormous publicity in the media on May 30 and over that weekend, before they had an opportunity to respond in court, counsel said.

Rejected

In an affidavit, Niall McPartland, a solicitor and husband of Ciara Quinn, said the family believed the May 30 application was made to ensure court privilege here for the allegations made in the US and UK courts by the bank's "so-called informants" and to gain advantage over the Quinns by casting them "in a bad light".

The family also believed that IBRC, or persons acting for it, had notified the media of its May 30 application.

Certain information provided by the informants was "quite clearly and quite simply wrong", he said.

Mr Gallagher, for IBRC, said it strongly rejected the claims the May 30 application was "most unusual and unorthodox".

Due to gagging orders imposed on the US and UK proceedings, this day was the first opportunity the bank had to apprise the court, he said.

The judge heard IBRC was consenting to the Quinns having all the documents sought – after they undertook that some of those documents, related to the UK proceedings and covered by data protection legislation, will be used only for the litigation involving themselves and IBRC and will not be disclosed to other parties.